Hiromichi Itou recently won the Vintage Championship with this:
Creatures (6)
Planeswalkers (1)
Lands (16)
Spells (37)
- 2 Sensei's Divining Top
- 1 Brainstorm
- 4 Mana Drain
- 1 Vampiric Tutor
- 1 Mystical Tutor
- 1 Yawgmoth's Will
- 4 Force of Will
- 1 Sol Ring
- 1 Demonic Tutor
- 1 Hurkyl's Recall
- 1 Time Walk
- 1 Ancestral Recall
- 1 Mana Crypt
- 1 Time Vault
- 1
- 1 Merchant Scroll
- 1 Rack and Ruin
- 1 Thirst for Knowledge
- 1 Chain of Vapor
- 1 Misdirection
- 1 Tinker
- 1 Voltaic Key
- 1 Black Lotus
- 1 Fact or Fiction
- 1 Mox Emerald
- 1 Mox Jet
- 1 Mox Pearl
- 1 Mox Ruby
- 1 Mox Sapphire
- 1 Darkblast
What was so unique about his decklist was the density of anti-Null Rod technology. He ran three anti-Null Rod cards – Rack and Ruin, Hurkyl’s Recall, and Chain of Vapor – far more than most Tezzeret decks have ever run. Also, he ran Fire/Ice and Darkblast, to address cards typically run in Null Rod decks, such as Dark Confidant, Aven Mindcensor, and so on.
As I wrote last week, Itou was not alone. Each of the top 3 decks ran 3-4 anti-Null Rod spells and spot removal. This formula was successful. Null Rod decks won both days of the ICBM open, but couldn’t penetrate the Top 4 of the Vintage Championship. In the war of Time Vault versus Null Rod, Time Vault won this round. But how can Null Rod decks evolve?
A few weeks ago, I recommended Meandeck Beats for the Vintage Championship:
Creatures (23)
Lands (20)
Spells (17)
- 1 Forest
- 1 Vampiric Tutor
- 2 Choke
- 4 Null Rod
- 1 Demonic Consultation
- 1 Black Lotus
- 1 Lotus Petal
- 1 Mox Emerald
- 1 Mox Pearl
- 4 Thoughtseize
Sideboard
I ran Meandeck Beats at the Steel City Power Nine tournament, and I faced Brian DeMars running the infamous Steel City Vault deck. I won game 1. But in game 2, Brian destroyed all four of my Null Rods. I may have over-sideboarded, as I boarded out all of my Goyfs and drew only Null Rods and Chokes. But also, Choke proved ineffective on account of Brian’s use of City of Brass. Had Choke been Seal of Cleansing, I could well have emerged victorious.
Before overhauling the deck, it should be tested with that modest change. I cut the Chokes for Seals, and swapped a Mire out for a Plains.
Meandeck Beats versus Itou Tezzeret, Round 1: Establishing a Baseline
Here is a 10 games set, alternating playing first.
Game 1: Tezzeret on the play has turn 1 Dark Confidant, off Swamp and Mox Sapphire. MDB has turn 1 Qasali Pridemage off Mox Pearl and Bayou. On turn 2, Tezz plays Top and Brainstorm. Unfortunately, Bob flipped Force. MDB attacks with Pridemage on turn 2. It attempts to play Aven Mindcensor, and is Forced. Tez Fires the Pridemage and plays Voltaic Key. MD Beats plays turn 3 Seal and Goyf. Tez plays Tinker on turn 4, for Leviathan. Meandeck Wastelands Academy and plays another Seal, and Seals Voltaic Key. Goyf is now 6/7. Tezzeret attacks with Inkwell. Beats attacks with Goyf, and Bob blocks. Beats plays another Goyf, which is Drained. Tezzeret plays Thirst and attacks with Inkwell, sending Beats to 3. Meandeck Beats attacks with Goyf, sending Tezzeret to 2. Meandeck Beats draws Aven Mindcdensor, but it’s too late.
0-1
Game 2: MDB Mulligans to 6. MDB plays turn 1 Thoughtseize, seeing Mox Jet, Dark Confidant, Dark Confidant, Yawgmoth’s Will, Sensei’s Divning Top, Underground Sea, Volcanic Island. Thoughtseize took Mox Jet. MDB plays turn 2 Teeg. Tez plays turn 2 Dark Confidant. MDB plays turn 3 Mox Pearl, Pridemage, and attack with Teeg for 3. On turn 3, Tezzeret plays Demonic Tutor for Black Lotus and casts Fire on Pridemage and another Confidant. Meandeck Beats plays turn 4 Goyf and Dark Confidant and Teeg trades with a Confidant. Tez plays Yawgmoth’s Will, Fires Dark Confidant, Demonic Tutors for Tinker, and plays yet another Bob. Meandeck Beats plays turn 5 Pridemage, and attacks with Goyf for 5. One Dark Confidant chumps. Bobs reveal Ancestral and Tezzeret Tinkers up the Leviathan. Tezzeret wins.
0-2
Game 3: Tezzeret opens with LoA. MDB Wastelands Library. Tezzert plays, Mox, Sol Ring, Island, Top. MDB plays Mox Pearl, Bayou, Null Rod. In response, Tezzeret Tops and puts Tinker on top (although it only has one land, and no other visible lands on top). Tezzeret plays turn 3 draw, go. MDB Consults for Windswept Heath, which finds Savannah. Tezzeret plays draw, go. MDB plays turn 4 Pridemage. Tezzeret plays draw, go. MDB attacks with Pridemage and casts Aven Mindcensor with ESG, now, before Drain might be up. It resolves. Tezzeret draws Underground Sea on turn 6 and plays Dark Confidant. On turn 7, MDB attacks with Pridemage and Mindcensor. Bob reveals Thirst, but Tezzeret draws Inkwell. It loses.
1-2
Game 4: MDB opens with turn 1 Mox Pearl, Mox Emerald, Goyf. Tezzeret opens with Underground Sea, Sol Ring, Top, and use it, seeing Mana Crypt and putting it on top. MDB plays turn 2 Null Rod, which is Forced. Tezzeret plays turn 2 Mana Crypt, Polluted Delta, Demonic Tutor, and Tinker for Inkwell. MDB draws Swamp, too late.
1-3
Game 5: Tezzeret opens with Black Lotus, Mox, Delta, Vamp for Tinker, Brainstorm, Tinker into Inkwell.
1-4
Game 6: MDB plays turn 1 Gaddock Teeg. Tez plays a Polluted Delta into Swamp, Voltaic Key. Turn 2 Thoughtseize takes Tinker, and sees Time Vault. MDB plays Null Rod off Mox and ESG. Tezzeret plays Delta into Island, Time Vault. On turn 4, MDB removes ESG and plays Pridemage, attacking with Teeg. Tezzeret plays Delta and passes, holding up Rack and Ruin. MDB attacks for 4, sending Tezzeret to 9. On its endstep, Tezzeret plays Rack and Ruin on Null Rod and Mox. It untaps and plays Bob, then it passes. MDB declares attack, and in response, Tez attempts to activate Key, and MDB responds by sacrificing Pridemage to kill Time Vault. Tez plays Top and passes. MDB attacks with Teeg and plays Goyf, which is Drained. Tez Mystical Tutors for Yawgmoth’s Will and goes infinite with Leviathan.
1-5
Game 7: Tezzeret opened with Mox Ruby, Top, Academy, Merchant Scroll. MDB mulliganed a hand without a turn 1 play into one with turn 1 Teeg. Tezzeret plays turn 2: Key off Mox, Ancestral, Top, use Key and Top to draw a Delta, and Top again. Sol Ring, replay the Top, Delta into Sea, Bob. MDB plays turn 2 Goyf and attacks. Tezzeret uses Top to draw Darkblast. It does this: plays another Delta, breaks it for Sea. Cast Darkblast on Teeg. Then, activate Top, and response by activating Key. For the first Top activation to resolve, Tezzeret dredges Darkblast. Then, Top goes on top and is drawn. Gaddock Teeg is killed by Darkblast. Top is replayed. MDB attacks with Goyf for 3 and plays Teeg again. Teeg is Drained. Tez untaps and casts Fact or Fiction and then Tops and sees Mystical Tutor. Yawgmoth’s Will follows and the game ends.
1-6
Game 8: MDB plays turn 1 Thoughtseize, taking Time Vault. Tez topdecks Bob and plays it on turn 1. MDB Wastelands Sea. Tez plays another Bob and attacks. MDB plays Strip Mine on Swamp. Bobs take over, and reveal Tinker which wins the game.
1-7
Game 9: Tez plays turn 1 Bob and turn 2 Tinker with Force backup.
1-8
Game 10: MDB has no turn 1 plays. Tez plays turn 1 Bob again. MDB plays turn 2 Null Rod. Bob reveals Tinker. Gaddock Teeg and Thoughtseize are played on turn 3 (taking Tinker). Tez plays turn 3 land and passes (takes 5 to Bobs revealing Drain and Thirst). On turn 4, MDB plays Bob and Pridemage, which are Darkblasted and Drained respectively. Bob flips Inkwell and Lotus, and an Aven Mindcensor ends the game.
2-8
Analysis:
This matchup was much more lopsided in the small set of 10 games than I anticipated. Even if it’s closer than it appears — and that is questionable — that’s not good enough for my taste. We can do better. But first, we need to understand the matchup dynamics and the deck dynamics. What’s going on here?
Hiromichi’s Tezzeret:
I am impressed with Hiromichi’s deck. It does a number of things very well, and differently. There is a difference in emphasis, although it’s subtle. Let me describe the features that mark this difference:
• Most Tezzeret decks seem to draw more cards, and beeline into Yawgmoth’s Will with greater frequency.
• This deck does not run Gifts Ungiven, and Itou said that he cut Fact or Fiction for Extirpate. Relatedly, he does not run Mana Vault (or Lotus Petal). He doesn’t even run Ponder.
• Instead, the emphasis is on Sensei’s Diving Top, which does an incredible amount of work in this deck, and Dark Confidant. This deck focuses on Bob and Top more than hitting the critical mass with Gifts or Will, say.
• It’s generates a continuous stream of plays rather than crescendoing into discrete ‘big plays,’ at least as much as other Tezzeret decks. In short, it seems to rely more on consistency than brokenness.
• Hiromichi said that he sideboarded out Merchant Scroll in most Drain matchups. I would never do that in a Drain mirror, simply because of Scroll’s efficiency and because of how good Ancestral is, but this fact may illustrate the major difference between Hiromichi’s approach and other approaches and explain why he doesn’t run cards I consider sacrosanct, like Gifts Ungiven (and Ponder).
• Hiromichi’s answers are not tutored up, but drawn naturally. When playing his deck, I can’t remember tutoring for Fire/Ice or Rack and Ruin to kill a creature or a Null Rod. Rather, the deck includes a sufficient quantity of answers that they can be naturally drawn, rather than have to be tutored for. It also sees so many cards with Bob and Top, that the 5 dedicated anti-Null Rod cards will naturally been seen.
Meandeck Beats:
• Gaddock Teeg: Weaker against Itou. First, his deck doesn’t rely as much on Force of Will. It doesn’t have to protect big spells because it has fewer ‘big spells’ to protect. Instead, he just deals damage and draws cards with Bobs and Tops.
• Pridemage: One of my best cards against Itou’s deck. Almost always deals 3 the turn he is played (by powering up another creature) or the first time he attacks.
• Null Rod: Obviously an all star, but often destroyed or elided through Tinker.
• Dark Confidant: I never got him going, simply because I was forced to deal with my opponent’s spells first. I never had time to play him. In order to make him better, I may need to consider a Mox Jet maindeck.
• Tarmogoyf: Not terrible simply because it is such a fast clock, and good against opposing Bobs. Better than expected.
• Thoughtsieze: not always as good as I’d like when most of your opponent’s cards come from Top and Bob. That said, it’s still strong. It just can’t do anything by itself. It has to be paired with other threats.
• Aven Mindcensor: Too slow or easily stopped when needed, or addressed by Fire/Ice or Darkblast. Amazing if it resolves.
• Seal of Cleansing: Surprisingly weak. This did very little.
Cards I am considering:
• Suppression Field: Itou’s deck has 11 cards that this would be useful against. Suppression Field + Null Rod might be the trick here. By slowing Top, it actually functions like a quasi-Null Rod.
• Diabolic Edict: It’s clear that Inkwell Leviathan was taking me down over and over again. Aven Mindcensor was not enough to stop it. I will first test this card maindeck.
• Duress: Normally, this would be a go-to card. There are two problems. First, Thoughtseize wasn’t nearly as good as I had hoped, for reasons I articulated above. Second, it would continue to reduce my actual creature density.
• Vexing Shusher: This card could help protect Diabolic Edict, arguably better than Gaddock Teeg.
I want to see how the matchup dynamic changes if I simply cut the 2 Seals and 1 Aven Mindcensor for 3 Diabolic Edict. That’s what I do:
Meandeck Beats versus Itou Tezzeret, Round 2: Testing Edict
Game 1: Tezzeret won the roll. Tezzeret mulligans a one-land hand into: Force, Bob, Library of Alexandria, Mox Emerald, Delta, Sea.
MDB: Bayou, Scrubland[/author]“][author name="Scrubland"]Scrubland[/author], Teeg, Heath, Mox Pearl, Goyf, Mindcensor.
Tezzeret plays turn 1 Bob and MDB plays turn 1 Teeg. On turn 2, Tez plays LoA. MDB plays Aven Mindcensor and then attacks with Teeg. Tez plays Academy and passes. On turn 3, MDB plays Goyf and Bob, and attacks with Teeg and Mindcensor. Tez untaps and draws a card and then uses LoA and plays Time Vault. MDB attacks with all four men, and Tez trades Bobs, but it plays another Goyf. MDB wins.
1-0
Game 2:
MDB: Thoughtseize, Wasteland, Bayou, Bloodstained Mire, Scrubland[/author]“][author name="Scrubland"]Scrubland[/author], Thoughtseize, Black Lotus.
Tez: Darkblast, Brainstorm, Hurkyl’s Recall, Island, Mox Ruby, Magus, Mox Emerald.
MDB plays turn 1 double Thoughtseize and Mire. Tez plays turn 1 Island, Ruby, Magus. MDB plays turn 2 Scrubland[/author]“][author name="Scrubland"]Scrubland[/author]. Tez plays Swamp on turn 2 and attacks with Magus. MDB plays turn 3 Bob, which is Darkblasted. Tez attacks with Magus and plays Sol Ring. MDB plays turn 4 Teeg. Tez plays Volc. MDB attacks with Teeg. Tez attacks with Magus and plays Delta. MDB plays eot Aven Mindcensor. MDB attacks with Teeg and Mindcensor on turn 5 and plays Null Rod. Tez Dredges back Darkblast and kills Mindcensor. MDB plays turn six Mire and attacks with Teeg. Tez dredges Darkblast again. MDB casts ESG and attacks with Teeg. Tez trades Darkblast and Magus with Teeg. MDG attacks with ESG and plays Pridemage. Tez plays an Island and passes. MDB plays Goyf and attacks for 4. Tez plays a Top. MDB attacks for a bunch and wins.
2-0
Game 3:
Tez opened: Delta, DT, Tez, Sea, Island, Strand, Thirst
MDB: Strip Mine, Bob, Mire, Teeg, Wasteland, Vamp, Thoughtseize
Tez opens with Delta. MDB plays turn 1 Swamp, Thoughtseize, taking DT. Tez draws Tinker and plays turn 2 Strand. MDB plays turn 2 Black Lotus, Teeg and Bob. Tez topdecks Mox Sapphire and casts Tinker for Leviathan. MDB plays turn 3 Vamp for Edict, plays Wasteland and casts it, killing Leviathan. Tez plays Island and passes on turn 4. MDB Strip Mine’s Tez, and Tez casts Thirst, discarding Force and Tez. MDB plays Bob, Mox Pearl and Pridemage and attacks for 4. Tez Fire’s two Bobs and casts Bob. MDB plays Thoughtseize, taking Yawg Will and attacks for 4 and Wastelands the Volcanic Island. MDB wins in two turns.
3-0
Game 4:
MDB: Swamp, Teeg, Pridemage, Bob, Strip Mine, Null Rod, Mindcensor
Tez: Delta, Vamp, Pearl, Ruby, Time Walk, Scroll, Tez
MDB plays turn 1 Swamp. Tez drew Mana Crypt. It plays turn 1 Delta into Sea, Mox, Time Walk, upkeep Vamp for Lotus, Mana Crypt, Mox, Tezzeret and Scroll for Mystical Tutor and tutor up Time Vault with Tezzeret. That should be game, except that MDB plays turn 2, Strip Mine and Null Rod. However, Tez hasn’t lost. Tez ramps Tez and passes. MDB plays turn 3 Bob, which is Forced, and Strips the Sea. Tez ramps Tez. MDB draws Consult and finds Heath and finds Plains and casts Pridemage. Tez ramps Tez to 5. MDB plays another Pridemage and attacks the Tez for 4 with the other. Tez draws dead. MDB kills the Tezzeret and attacks Tez for 2. MDB wins in two turns.
4-0
Game 5:
Tez mulls a one-land hand into a six-card hand with all Black spells and Islands, but keeps: Yawg Will, Bob, Bob, Island, Island, Magus.
MDB: Mire, ESG, Mindcensor, ESG, Thoughtseize, Wasteland, Heath
Tez plays turn 1 Island. MDB plays turn 1 Mindcensor. Tez draws Delta, sees a Swamp ontop, and casts Bob. MDB plays Edict and Tez sacrifices Bob, and attacks with Mindcensor. Tez plays Bob and Island on turn 3. MDB plays turn 4 Pridemage and attacks with Mindcensor. Tez plays Delta and Time Vault. MDB plays Thoughtseize, taking Yawg Will and attacks for 4. Tez Brainstorms into Tinker, but Aven Mindcensor prevents Tez from finding any good targets. MDB wins. Had Tinker resolved, though, MDB was holding both Consult and Vamp, to find Edict.
5-0
Game 6:
MDB: Bob, Waste, Vamp, Teeg, Scrubland[/author]“][author name="Scrubland"]Scrubland[/author], Edict, Pridemage
Tez: Mox Sapphire, Chain of Vapor, Mystical Tutor, Key, Vamp, Bob, Mana Crypt, mulligan into: Sol Ring, Yawg Will, Mox Sapphire, Ancestral, Top, DT.
MDB leads with Scrubland[/author]“][author name="Scrubland"]Scrubland[/author] and passes. Tez plays Sapphire, Ancestral and Delta into Swamp, Sol Ring, Top and Tops, putting Fire on top. MDB plays Bob. Tez plays Bob and Fire on the other Bob. MDB plays Wasteland on the Volc and casts Pridemage. Then Tez plays DT for Tinker and casts Tinker for Leviathan. MDB plays Edict, but Tez sacrifices Bob. Tez plays Sea and attacks. MDB plays Thougthseize, Teeg, and Goyf. Tez uses Top to put Force on top and draw it allows Tez to Force Teeg. MDB attacks for 2. Tez plays Yawg Will and wins.
5-1
Game 7:
Tez: Bob, Mox Ruby, Top, Volc, Delta, Brainstorm, Chain of Vapor
MDB: Swamp, Thoughtseize, Mox Emerald, Vamp, Mindcensor, Null Rod, ESG
Tez played turn 1 Brainstorm, Mox, Top. Turn 1 Thoughtseize takes Bob, and Null Rod resolves. However, Tez Chains it, untaps and played Strand. MDB plays Vamp for Savannah. MDB plays Null Rod, and it is Drained. MDB plays Mindcensor. Tez activates Top to draw Fact and casts it. It’s insane: Fire/Ice, Time Vault, Yawg Will, Tinker, and the Top. Tez took the Will and Fire/Ice pile. Yawg Will replaces Bob and a land. Rack and Ruin hits Null Rod, and Bob starts attacking. However, MDB plays Goyf, then Bob and a Goyf. This was a very interesting endgame. Tez is able to hardcast Inkwell, but MDB has double goyf and a Bob. Tez adds Tezzeret to the table, and ramps to 5, but MDB draws Edict, kills Inkwell, and kills Tez.
6-1
Game 8:
MDB: Heath, Pridemage, Thoughtseize, Edict, ESG, Savannah, Bayou
Tez: Drain, Top, Sea, Leviathan, Force, Sapphire, Pearl
MDB plays turn 1 Thoughtsieze, taking Top. Tez plays turn 1 Sapphire, Pearl, Sea. MDB plays turn 2 Thoughtseize, taking a Drain. Tez plays draw go. Turn 3 Goyf is Drained. Tez plays Volc. Turn 4 Goyf is Forced, the hard way. Turn 5 Qasali Pridemage resolves. Mystical for Ancestral allows Tez to hardcast Inkwell. However, it is met by Edict and within a few more turns, the game ends.
7-1
Game 9:
Tez: Force, Sea, Will, Inky, Force, Strand, Vamp
MDB: Rod, Pridemage, ESG, Pridemage, Heath, Petal, ESG
Tez plays turn 1 Sea. MDB plays turn 1 Pridemage, off of Petal. Tez plays Vamp for Ancestral, plays a fetch and passes. MDB plays turn 2 Teeg, which is Forced, and attacks with Pridemage. Tez plays a land and Bob. MDB plays Null Rod, which is Forced, and attacks. Tez plays Thirst, seeing both Key and Time Vault, but discarded two lands. MDB played Goyf. Tez played Fire on Pridemage and cast Time Vault. Tez could have played Mana Crypt and Key, but it was only at 3 life. MDB played another Pridemage and attacked with Goyf. The game ends.
8-1
Game 10:
Turn 1 Teeg is Forced. Tez plays turn 1 Sol Ring, Time Vault. MDB plays turn 2 Teeg. Tez draws Vamp and Sea and passes. MDB attacks with Teeg and passes. On endstep, Tez plays Vamp. In response, Aven Mindcensor. Tez plays Bob. MDG plays Edict and attacks. The game ends within a few turns through Goyf beats.
Analysis:
Edict was quite good, by giving this deck an answer to Leviathan and knocking off Bobs before they generate overwhelming card advantage.
Edict was decisive in game 3, 8, and 10 and very useful in game 5. In game 6. Edict was central, but the Bob allowed Tez to keep Leviathan around long enough to win. In game 7, Edict made the game end sooner, as it did in 10. At a minimum, games 3, 5, 8 and 10 were turned on account of Edict. The unexpected benefit is that Edict also takes out Bobs and helps slow the Tez draw engine. Without Edict, this set could have easily been 4-6, or 5-5 instead of 9-1.
This configuration appears to be successful. It’s funny how just a few card differences can make such a huge difference in Vintage. The difference was even more profound than I could have realized. Here’s the thing I didn’t anticipate: Edict opens up strategic space, not simply tactical space. By running Edict, suddenly the deck didn’t feel like it had to completely lock the opponent out by turn two or three in order to win.
In other words, including Diabolic Edict fundamentally changed the rhythm of the matchup in your favor. It gives you breathing room by virtue of having an answer to your weakest strategy. You don’t have to work so hard from preventing your opponent from playing their spells if you can answer whatever it is that they play. That explains why such a minimal change in terms of quantity of cards produced such a dramatic change in outcomes.
It doesn’t appear as if Suppression Field or additional Duresses are necessary. However, post-board matches need to be tested.
Meandeck Beats versus Itou Tezzeret, Round 3: Post-Board Baseline
Itou said that he sideboards out Misdirection, Fact, and Magus in the Beats matchup for Pyroclasms and another Darkblast. As a result, Goyfs seem actually important, since they survive the Clasm. However, I want at least one Seal in here. So I’ll test the waters and sideboard out two Goyfs for two Seals.
Game 1:
Tez opened with turn one LoA, which was Wasted. Then Tez played Bob, which MDB tried to Edict, but was Forced. Null Rod resolved and a Goyf raced Bob. However, Hurkyl’s Recall bounced Null Rod, and Tinker + Yawg Will won the game. Seal of Cleansing didn’t do much. Wish it was Goyf.
0-1
Game 2:
MDB mulligans to 6 and it’s first threat is Drained off Mox and a land and results in Tezzeret into Time Vault. GG.
0-2
Game 3:
Tez played turn 1 Bob, and set up turn 2 Tinker. MDB played turn 1 Null Rod and Seal. If Seal had been Edict, Beats would have been fine.
0-3
Bringing in Seals seems terrible. New plan.
I will sideboard in 1 Darkblast and a fourth Edict.
Meandeck Beats versus Itou Tezzeret, Round Four: Post-Board II
Game 1:
Tez is able to pull off Tinker for Leviathan and survive two Diabolic Edicts (sacrificing sequential Bobs) and win.
0-1
Game 2:
Goyf beats plus Thoughtseize is enough after Aven Mindcensor and Pridemage are killed.
1-1
Game 3:
A back and forth, that includes Tinker and Edict on Leviathan, MDB eventually wins this one.
2-1
Game 4:
Turn 1 Thoughtseize, turn 2 Null Rod isn’t quite enough to win the game by itself, as Chain of Vapor bounces the Null Rod, but it created enough tempo that Goyfs won a turn before Tez could assemble the combo.
3-1
Game 5:
Tez mulligans to 6, and plays turn 1 Bob. MDB plays turn 1 Darkblast. Tez plays DT for Tinker. MDB Thoughtseizes the Tinker and plays Null Rod. Tez plays draw, go. MDB plays Goyf and starts the attack. An Aven Mindcensor is Drained, which allows Yawg Will into Tinker, but the Leviathan is Edicted twice to finally kill it.
4-1
Game 6:
MDB turn one Bob is met and suprassed by Mox, Mox, Sol Ring, Black Lotus, Academy, Chain of Vapor the Bob, then double Bob. Bob is replayed, but it’s too late. Tez pulls way ahead and wins.
4-2
Game 7:
MDB has to mull to 6, and is mana constrained for the rest of the game. A Thoughtseize, an Edict on a Bob and a Goyf are not enough to stop Tez from winning by assembling Time Vault plus Key.
4-3
Game 8:
MDB had turn 1 Teeg, turn 2 Thoughtseize plus Pridemage, but Tez had turn 1 Mox, Mox, Mox, Sol Ring, Delta, Time Vault, with Vamp in hand. Vamp found Key.
4-4
Game 9:
MDB stabilized at 2 life, after Mindcensor, Edict, Edict, Goyf and Goyf were all countered to make way for a Bob. Null Rod kept other shenanigans from happening. This was extremely close. Edicts were huge.
5-4
Game 10:
Tez Hurkyl’s Recalled the Null Rods, and won the last two coin flips to Mana Crypt to not lose the game (being at 3 life).
Final score, post-board: 5-5
While I wouldn’t attribute much of the post-board evening of the match to Pyroclasm, the additional Darkblast did make a huge difference in favor of Tezzeret. Darkblast is phenomenal against Meandeck Beats, killing Bobs and Mindcensors, and did so throughout the set.
I think a minor sideboard tweak is called for: sideboard out at least one Aven Mindcensor instead of a Goyf and/or an ESG because of Darkblast. Goyfs should definitely stay, in any case.
Also, I am going to cut Lotus Petal for Mox Jet. It will make some hands worse, but the hope is that it will make more hands better overall.
To recap, this is what I have so far:
Creatures (22)
Lands (19)
Spells (19)
The sideboard is definitely unperfected, but I’ve made quite a bit of progress. The games where Meandeck Beats lost was when Tez just went broken on turn 1 and turn 2, fueled by Moxen. I am going to test swapping the Swords in the board for Chalice. Chalices make a lot of sense despite the dissynergy with Gaddock Teeg. First, they shore up the Ad Nauseam matchup. Second, they constrain the opponent’s mana is precisely the ways that you want, like Null Rod. But unlike Null Rod, Chalice is free. Chalice is not maindeckable in this deck, but it could make a lot of sense as a sideboard card. If that doesn’t work, then I’ll have to try Duresses or something entirely different. That would make the sideboard plan:
On the play:
+ 1 Diabolic Edict
+ 1 Darkblast
+ 3 Chalice of the Void
– 3 Aven Mindcensor
– 1 Elvish Spirit Guide
– 1 Tarmogoyf
On the draw:
+ 1 Diabolic Edict
+ 1 Darkblast
– 2 Aven Mindcensor
Meandeck Beats v. Itou Tezzeret, Round 5: Testing Chalice Post-Board
Game 1: Tez mulligans to 6, but it’s insane: Black Lotus, Sea, Delta, Mana Crypt, Tinker and Scroll. Turn 1 Scroll for Ancestral and Tinker. That hand was easily beaten. Turn 1 Thoughtseize, turn 2 Edict (with another Edict, Teeg, Null Rod and Bob all in hand).
1-0
Game 2: Turn 1 Null Rod is Forced, but turn 2 Null Rod hits. This leads Tez to Tinker up Leviathan, but Edict kills it and a Goyf ends the game.
2-0
Game 3: Fascinating game. Tez goes broken and has Time Vault and Key in play on turn 2, but Beats plays turn 2 Null Rod, just in time. By the time Tez finds a Hurkyl’s, Pridemage kills Time Vault. Strip Mine prevented Pyroclasm from being cast.
3-0
Game 4: Meandeck Beats mulliganed to 6, but this still became a brutal back and forth. Both decks were completely spent when, with Chalice in play, Tez topdecked DT with Top to find Tinker (with Sol Ring in play) for Inkwell. That was enough to win. Meandeck Beats might have been able to win if it tutored a Goyf instead of Darkblast.
3-1
Game 5: A double Pyroclasm hand is trumped by Thoughtsieze plus multiple Wastelands, which keep Tez bottled up once Null Rod hits.
4-1
Game 6: Thoughtseize takes the best card on turn 1, and Teeg and Bob are cleared off the board by Pyroclasm, although Goyf sticks. Tinker is found, but Inkwell has already been drawn. Beats wins.
5-1
Game 7: Tez drew out of the nightmare scenario by drawing Tinker and Chain and the Time Vault combo. Pyroclasm and/or Darkblast cleared everything but Goyf, ensuring that Inkwell was able to finish the job.
5-2
Game 8: Chalice of the Void prevented Tez from playing turn 1 Key for turn 2 combo with Vamp. Vamp for Time Vault, and Wasteland buys a turn for Beats to play Bob, and Bob reveals a Null Rod, which wins the game.
6-2
Game 9: A turn 1 Library by Tez on the draw combined with an insane hand (LoA, Darkblast, Underground Sea, Chain of Vapor, Mox Sapphire, Dark Confidant, Force of Will) turns into a surprisingly easy victory a turn before being beaten into the dirt by a pair of Goyfs.
6-3
Game 10: Turn 1 Chalice prevents Bob from being played on turn 1, and practically wins the game by itself. Tez had the absolute nuts, but it couldn’t dig up another land after the first dual was Wasted, despite playing Ancestral, Brainstorm, and Time Walk. Chalice of the Void for the win.
Final score: 7-3
I am very pleased with this configuration. We are about in the exact spot you want to be. The most impressive part of the tweaks we’ve made, adding Edict to the main and Chalice to the board, actually helps more against the broader field. Edict, for example, is great against our hardest matchups, like Fish and Beats mirrors. Similarly, Chalice can be brought in against a range of matchups on the play, like combo and Stax, even.
I am very happy with this list. But that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. There unresolved questions that only further testing, involving a lot more time, can resolve. For example, perhaps this deck should have 4 Diabolic Edict. And maybe even a Darkblast maindeck. And the metagame is such that maybe Aven Mindcensor should be cut entirely. These are questions for another day.
For final reference, here is my revised decklist:
Creatures (22)
Lands (19)
Spells (19)
- 1 Forest
- 1 Plains
- 1 Vampiric Tutor
- 3 Diabolic Edict
- 4 Null Rod
- 1 Demonic Consultation
- 1 Black Lotus
- 1 Mox Emerald
- 1 Mox Jet
- 1 Mox Pearl
- 4 Thoughtseize
Sideboard
The next step is seeing how this fares against the Steel City Vault, which will have to wait for some other time.
Until then…